NOT GOOD NEWS…

Americans for the Arts released its second annual National Arts Index scores recently and the findings won’t surprise you: the 2009 Index score of 97.7 is the lowest Index score in the twelve years it measures. The 2009 score represents a drop of 3.6 percentage points from 101.3 in 2008. There were 3,000 new nonprofit arts organizations created during the 2007-09 recession years but attendance at mainstream arts organizations and events continues a long-term decline. In 2008, 41% of nonprofit arts groups reported a deficit to the IRS, up from 36% in 2007. While our country’s flagging economy has surely presented a number of challenges for the arts, the Index does hit some resonating high notes: Americans are seeking more personal engagement in the arts. Personal arts creation and volunteerism is growing. The number of Americans who personally participated in an artistic activity increased 5% between 2005 and 2009, while volunteering also jumped 11.6 percent; the number of artists in the workforce has increased 17% from 1996 to 2009 (1.9 to 2.2 million); and demand for Arts Education is up. There are more college-bound seniors with 4 years of arts or music and in the past decade college arts degrees conferred annually have risen from 75,000 to 127,000.